Coop Heat for Super Cold Temps

[SnowflakeMama]

Hello,
I'm a newbie here, living in Northern BC and we're soon-to-be first time chicken parents. I'm just trying to work out what we'll have to set up through the coming year. We have a coop from our home's previous owner, with a run and all that jazz so we're pretty well set for the summer. My question is about how to prep for next winter... we could tell when we moved in that the previous owners obviously moved the chickens in winter to a shed that's closer to the house. The "summer coop" is huge (hard to heat) and really far from any power source so my guess is that they moved them to the shed because it was easier to get power to it and heat it.
My question is, if we move them to the smaller shed for winter (so it's easier for them to create enough heat on their own) and it's got good insulation, ventilation, draft-free, etc. at what point would I need to consider heating the coop? This past winter we had two weeks of temperatures below -50C (-58f), but it's not always that cold. We need to be prepared for anything from -25C to -50C or below, and I don't want to be scrambling when temps drop.
Is there anyone else in here that has chickens in similar temperatures, and if so do you ever heat your coop?

Thanks in advance.

 

[cavemanrich]

Let me tag @Alaskan Since that member is in the frigid zone and would be more help/advice than myself.
WISHING YOU BEST,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

 

[Alaskan]

This past winter we had two weeks of temperatures below -50C (-58f), but it's not always that cold. We need to be prepared for anything from -25C to -50C or below, and I don't want to be scrambling when temps drop.
Is there anyone else in here that has chickens in similar temperatures, and if so do you ever heat your coop?

Hack....yep, that is cold.

I don't get that cold, since I live in the banana belt of Alaska.

However, this state is huge, and I have talked to those who have poultry in those temps... and yes, they usually heat. (Or stick the coop up against a heated structure for winter, which is really the same thing as heating the coop).

From what I can tell, if you are -20 (C or F) or below, for more than 2 weeks... (real temp,not wind chill, real feel, or whatever), then heat of one kind or another is a very good and important thing.

I go over it all step by step in my cold weather coop article.

Since you already have coops, scroll down to the second half where I go over light, heating choices, etc.

https://www.backyardchickens.com/articles/cold-weather-poultry-housing-and-care.72010/

 

[Sixandahalfacres]

I live in Alberta (Edmonton) so not quite as cold, but still pretty chilly. We don’t heat our coop in the winter, and it definitely goes down to -30 to -40 C for weeks at a time in the winter. I’ve found that as long as the coop is fairly small and has good ventilation, the birds do just fine. I don’t have too many birds with big combs (I prefer pea combs or small combs), so that helps not having to worry about frostbite, but I imagine that -50 would be a bit much. I’m not too sure how much a heat lamp would even help in weather that cold... it also helps to give the birds some extra scratch or even cracked corn I the afternoon before bedtime so they can generate extra heat in the cold overnight. Also, the best thing you can do is invest in a heated waterer... otherwise you’ll be trucking water back and forth several times a day and trying to thaw buckets all the time. I have a hanging one with several dripless nipples and it didn’t freeze in even the -40 temps. Also, make sure your roosts are quite large and flat so your birds toes don’t curl around the roosts - if it’s wider the birds can cover their toes better when roosting to prevent frost bitten feet.

 

[CraftyHen]

I'm in Minnesota and we have long, snow-packed winters with standing temps well below zero not including wind chill which can drop us to 30-45 below 0. The coop has a covered run. I wrap the walls of run with 6 mil plastic, leaving the eaves open for ventilation. If the season is going to be particularly brutal I do a second layer on the inside of the run, too. Deep litter on the ground. Even on the worst cold days, where "highs" were negatives, the coop & run were never below zero. 2 heated waterers and a quality scratch of wheat and corn. My gals never break stride and most continue to lay at least a bit all winter.

 

[SnowflakeMama]

Oh wow, thank you all for the info! We'll start with making sure the shed is really converted properly and ventilated well and go from there. We've already got a heated waterer on the list, that's a definite! And I was wondering about a covered/wrapped run as well so that's good to know and should be easy enough to set up.

Honestly, I'm hopeful we'll never see those temperatures again. I've lived here my whole life and this is the first time I've experienced that kind of cold. Still, better to be prepared than not!

 

[Sixandahalfacres]

Oh wow, thank you all for the info! We'll start with making sure the shed is really converted properly and ventilated well and go from there. We've already got a heated waterer on the list, that's a definite! And I was wondering about a covered/wrapped run as well so that's good to know and should be easy enough to set up.

Honestly, I'm hopeful we'll never see those temperatures again. I've lived here my whole life and this is the first time I've experienced that kind of cold. Still, better to be prepared than not!

Great idea to be prepared We also have a covered run attached to our coop along with a larger uncovered run for in the summer. We tarped it as well to keep the snow and wind out but it definitely wasn't much warmer than outside. The chickens will stay inside the coop when it's really cold and come out in the run to dust bathe when it's a bit warmer (-20 C)

Good luck! Hope you have fun with your chickens

 

[RedneckGurl]

I live in north Alabama so the worst temps I've ever had to deal with were only single digits with a wind chill of just about 0 degrees F. Obviously I've not had to worry about the kind of temps you experience way up there in the North but I ran across something yesterday that I didn't even know existed but could interest you for your much colder weather. Apparently there are such things a heated roosts. Obviously you'd need a way to power them but they sound amazing. https://www.betterchickencoops.com/product/heated-roosting-bar/
Because chickens have the ability to fluff their feathers and thereby trap warm air next to their bodies, the only things you really have to worry about are their feet and their combs. These roosts would definitely take care of the feet and if you had any with larger combs, you can rub them with a nice coat of Vaseline and that helps keep frostbite at bay.

 

[SnowflakeMama]

I live in north Alabama so the worst temps I've ever had to deal with were only single digits with a wind chill of just about 0 degrees F. Obviously I've not had to worry about the kind of temps you experience way up there in the North but I ran across something yesterday that I didn't even know existed but could interest you for your much colder weather. Apparently there are such things a heated roosts. Obviously you'd need a way to power them but they sound amazing. https://www.betterchickencoops.com/product/heated-roosting-bar/
Because chickens have the ability to fluff their feathers and thereby trap warm air next to their bodies, the only things you really have to worry about are their feet and their combs. These roosts would definitely take care of the feet and if you had any with larger combs, you can rub them with a nice coat of Vaseline and that helps keep frostbite at bay.

I did wonder about the roosts, I read that having wide/flat was better around here so they can fluff out and cover their feet to keep warm. I had no idea there were heated ones available though, definitely something we'll check out!